Keir Starmer to 'set out resignation as Prime Minister'

Sir Keir has insisted he would stand in any leadership contest, however, reports by The Observer suggests he is preparing to set out a timetable for his departure.

US President Donald Trump has wished the Prime Minister well on social media, stating: "Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

“He failed badly on two very important subjects – IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!).

“I wish him well! President DJT.”

Business Secretary Peter Kyle failed to rule out the possibility of the Prime Minister resigning.

He told Sky News: “I have nothing to believe that they are true. I’m seeing a lot of speculation out there.

“The only thing I can say with fact is that the Prime Minister is hard at work, as he is every day.

“He is one of the most hardworking people I’ve ever come across, and today, as in every other day I’ve ever known Keir, he is out there working hard.

“At the same time he is also trying to create the space where he can think and reflect on the political realities and challenges, and the opportunities, that lie before us.”

He is reportedly spending the weekend at Chequers with his family and “accepts his position is no longer tenable”.

The number of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to go has since topped 100 – just under a quarter of the party’s MPs – and includes some who signed a letter warning against a leadership contest just last month.

Reports also suggest Mr Burnham would sack Rachel Reeves as Chancellor if he became leader.

Labour grandees have also spoken out, with former home secretary Alan Johnson saying Sir Keir should step aside and Lord Falconer saying he has “no authority” because it is assumed he will be replaced.

A senior ally told The Sun they believe there is “just a 25% chance he fights on now”, while The Observer cited a Labour peer who said they think Sir Keir sees that “stopping ‘chaos’ (as he rightly put it) is now not possible by staying.”

Senior Labour figures believe a “clear statement” could come as early as Monday, according to The Observer.

No 10 said Sir Keir’s position remained unchanged from Friday, when he said he will not “walk away” from Downing Street and that he plans to stand in any potential contest.

He warned Labour staffers during a call on Friday lunchtime to avoid “plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement”.

He is understood to have spoken to a number of Cabinet ministers, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Friday, some of whom are reported to have told him he should set out a timetable for his departure.

Some in Westminster believe a contest could begin as early as next week, but allies of Mr Burnham favour a longer wait to allow them to prepare for government.

It is understood that Mr Burnham’s camp wants Sir Keir to set out his plans in the coming days but would accept a timetable that kept him in No 10 until September.

The incoming Makerfield MP is expected to be in Westminster on Monday to be sworn into the Commons.

He is reportedly planning to speak to Sir Keir afterwards and present him with a list of backers – which he is said to be seeking to get up to 200 – in a bid to press him to step down and set out a transition.

In a blow to Sir Keir, Labour peer Charlie Falconer said Sir Keir has “absolutely no authority” because “everybody assumes” Mr Burnham is going to challenge him and win.

He said he would advise Sir Keir not to stand in a leadership contest and instead agree a handover, preferably before the parliamentary recess on July 16.

And former deputy leader Baroness Harriet Harman, who Sir Keir appointed as a special envoy for women and girls, said there is a “sense of collective movement” from within Labour and that she expected Sir Keir to leave office and for Mr Burnham to take his place.

She has urged the party to move faster than aiming for a timetable ending in September, telling Sky News’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast ministers could not be left “in a state of paralysis all through the summer”.

If Sir Keir does not resign, 81 MPs would need to line up behind a candidate to trigger a contest and former health secretary Wes Streeting suggested last week he would be willing to fire the starting gun on such a process.